ODESSA, TEXAS – The Patriots won all four quarters on Thursday night and had their second highest mark in field goal percentage and free throw makes of the season as they beat UT Permian Basin by a score of 81-53.
 
UT Permian Basin led off the scoring on Thursday night with a three pointer just 42 seconds into the contest. That was matched with a Destini Whitehead jumper and a Montse Gutierrez layup and the Patriots took the lead right back after 3:55 of gametime. Another three from the Falcons gave them the 6-4 edge, but a jumper from Lovisa Hevinder and a three pointer from Gutierrez gave the Patriots the lead for good at the 4:07 mark of the first quarter.
 
The Patriots went on a 12-5 run from the 6-6 tie and were led by five points from Gutierrez, three points from Whitehead, and four points from Tina Machalova. UT Tyler held the Falcons to just 3-12 shooting in the quarter and two separate scoreless runs of over three minutes each.
 
With an 18-11 lead to begin the second quarter, the Patriots wasted no time in adding to the lead. They ran out to a 9-0 run over the first 6:26 of the period and held UT Permian Basin scoreless for the first 8:06 of the quarter.
 
The layup from the Falcons at the 1:54 mark sparked a scoring flurry that saw 15 points scored on six consecutive posssessions between the two programs over the next 1:17 of gametime. After a pair of made free throws from Gutierrez with just two seconds to go in the half, UT Tyler held the halftime lead by a score of 37-18.
 
The beginning of the third quarter saw a similar flurry of scoring as both teams combined for 10 points over a 1:15 stretch of game time and just four possessions. That led to the Patriots flexing their defensive muscles again, giving up just one made field goal and just six total points from the 7:38 mark to the 3:54 mark of the third period.
 
After a made layup from the Falcons to snap their drought, UT Tyler responded with a 9-3 run over the final 3:53 to end the quarter up 59-34. In the third quarter the Patriots forced the Falcons into four turnovers and came away with four steals. They also shot an efficient 58.3% in the period and made seven of their nine free throw attempts.
 
Over the first 5:20 of the fourth quarter, both teams played dead even as they each scored 10 points. From that moment on, the Patriots made just one field goal of the two they attempted, but they added in 10 points from the free throw line to close out the quarter on a 12-9 run. On that same run the Patriots defense forced a pair of turnovers and came up with a steal.
 
In the contest, UT Tyler shot an impressive 25-43 from the floor and added in 8-21 from beyond the arc. They shot 23-27 from the free throw line and outscored the Falcons 23-8 on points off turnovers and 32-16 on points in the paint.
 
Destini Whitehead led the way with 18 points on 8-11 shooting. She was followed by Montse Gutierrez, who had 15 points on 5-6 shooting, and then Hevinder and Machalova, who each scored 13.
 
Liah Davis collected a team-high five rebounds on the evening. Elli Emrich and Gutierrez each had four.
 
Emrich had a team-high nine assists in the contest and also came away with three steals.
 
Next on the slate for UT Tyler will be the final road contest and final regular season contest of the year. They will take on Angelo State on Saturday at 2 p.m and both teams will look to improve their seeding for the LSC postseason tournament that begins next week.